Keeping Your Mascots Happy

While there are some problems
that are shared by almost all mascot suits, some suits are more troublesome
than others. As an employer hiring promo staff, you’ll need to take these
issues into consideration if you want to ensure that your mascot has everything
they need to do their job well. Let’s take a look at the different types of
mascot suits and their quirks.

Quad Suits

If you’re brand features a furry,
four-legged animal, and you’re worried that a mascot won’t be able to capture
your creature perfectly, then you haven’t seen quad suits. Quad suits can look
fantastic, but they’re high maintenance, expensive, and your mascot won’t be
able to hand out flyers while suited up. On the other hand, a quad suit will
draw a crowd, so if you have the budget to cover a quad suit and a flyer distributor,
it could be the advertising push that your business needs.

If you do take this route, you
need to understand the strain that quad-suiting can put on the wearer. For
starters, we’ll consider how quad suits are designed. The video below shows a
quad suit in progress, so you can see how the wearer needs to move and stand to
create a realistic effect:

The first thing you’ll notice in
the video is that the quad-suiter must ‘walk’ in a very slouched position. The
weight of the costume’s head will also be placing a lot of stress on the
wearer’s neck.

Without sufficient breaks and
check-ins, the person wearing your quad suit may collapse from the strain of
wearing such a difficult suit. If your mascot collapses in front of people,
especially children, it could cause a fair amount of upset.

For quad suits, you need to weigh up whether the spectacle is worth the fussing.

Full Suit Problems

Quad suits and full suits share a
lot of the same problems, but at least a full suit allows the wearer to stand
up straight. Then again, they’re not quite as rare as the quad suit and won’t
turn as many heads.

Full suits can feel a bit
claustrophobic, and while many experienced promo staff will be used to wearing them,
failing to keep your staff hydrated and happy could lead to a desperate
unsuiting in public. This is the last thing you want to happen.

The most popular problem felt by
full-suiters is inadequate cooling solutions. Full suits are usually very
insulated, which is good in the winter but awful at any other time. Your promo
staff is likely to get hot very quickly wearing a full suit, and this needs to
be considered when preparing your promotions. If possible, inserting a small
USB powered fan into the costume can provide some relief, but the ability to
get a breath of fresh air at regular intervals will be far more appreciated.

To avoid spooking passing
children and families, you want your mascot to have somewhere private to remove
their costume’s head to breathe. Make sure your full suit mascot knows where
and when they can take a break.

Overheating can cause other problems such as dehydration. If you want your mascot to perform at their best all day long, you’ll need to make sure that they have something to drink during those breaks. This can cause problems of its own though; overcompensate and your mascot will need to use the bathroom, which is a task in itself.

Half Suit Solutions

Half-suiting could be the answer to your problems, if you don’t fancy planning around these full suits problems. Half-suiting means that parts of the body are free; perhaps the wearer’s legs or chest are visible, but they’re still wearing the costume head and paws. It can evoke a brand character without causing the wearer to overheat, and it’s a lot easier for half-suiters to prepare for bathroom trips.

If your dream is to advertise your brand through some quirky
but cool mascot work, we have the promo staff you need to fit
the shoes (and the rest of the costume). Remember, the key to a stellar
performance is all about how you take care of your mascot – keep them happy.